Source: Craig Jones / Getty
Kevin Durant seems to catch wind of any comment made in the media about him or his style of play, and once more he’s given a reply in his usual straightforward fashion. Responding to criticism levied upon him by retired NBA star Scottie Pippen in a recent interview, Durant fired back in epic fashion.
Pippen spoke with GQ and revealed some of his new business ventures, which include a new bourbon, a popcorn snack, and preparing a tell-all book regarding his time with the Chicago Bulls, and more. However, much of the discussion centered around the NBA of today, and Pippen’s sharp critique of Durant’s game suggested that the Brooklyn Nets star has a long way to go before he’s a true team leader.
From GQ:
Staying in that era of basketball, there are people who put you up on a big pedestal. Mark Jackson said on the Dan Patrick Show this month that he’d rather have Jordan guard him than you because of how physical you were on that end.
Guys that I played against, Mark Jackson, those kind of guys, they have that level of respect. They don’t like to be singled out as a team that Michael Jordan beat. Naw. Michael Jordan didn’t beat them. The Chicago Bulls beat them. The Chicago Bulls were the better team. It’s not an individual game, you can’t go into basketball and beat nobody with an individual record. And I used this example of what happened to Kevin Durant just the other day: this is the first time we’ve ever really seen Kevin Durant have to be the man and bring the team home. We ain’t never really had to see that because he’s had [Russell] Westbrook, Steph Curry, Klay [Thompson]. He’s been beating people, definitely in Golden State, by committee. With a team. He did that, but that team already knew how to win without KD. But you put KD in Brooklyn, and Kyrie [Irving] gets hurt and James Harden ain’t that guy, now KD not only has to score for them but also make plays for them. And this is no knock to KD, but they asked me, “Has he surpassed LeBron James?” And my answer was: LeBron James knows team basketball better than KD.
In response to a fan tweeting out portions of the interview in where Pippen compared Durant to LeBron James, KD shared his thoughts with unflinching precision.
“Didn’t the great Scottie pippen refuse to go in the game for the last second shot because he was in his feelings his coach drew up the play for a better shooter??” KD tweeted in the thread.
In another tweet response, KD wrote, “This guy Scott also wanted to enjoy his summer so he chose to rehab during the season lol yo @ScottiePippen THEY FOLLOWED PHIL, NOT YOU!!!”
Looks like there won’t be any friendly talks between those two in the future.
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Photo: Gety
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